VAT · § 6a / § 13b UStG

Reverse charge and intra-community supply

A business in France orders with a VAT ID: the invoice must show no German VAT, must carry both VAT IDs and the correct note – which differs between goods and services. Easy Invoices makes that distinction.

  • Goods → intra-community supply (§ 6a), services → reverse charge (§ 13b)
  • Seller and buyer VAT ID on the document (§ 14a UStG)
  • No VAT ID, no guesswork: the app holds the document and asks
Tax treatment per route: domestic 19%, OSS to Italy, reverse charge to France, tax-free export to Switzerland, destination tax where registered.

How the app decides

The check runs on every order with a shipping address in another EU country and a customer VAT ID on file.

  • Physical goods only → “Tax-free intra-community supply under § 6a UStG”
  • Services, digital products or mixed orders → “VAT to be paid by the recipient (reverse charge, § 13b UStG)”
  • Tax rate 0%, net total, note in the customer’s language
  • In the e-invoice with the matching EN 16931 tax category and both VAT IDs

When the VAT ID is missing

If an order looks like EU B2B but carries no VAT ID, any invoice would be a guess. The app holds the document and opens an item for you.

  • You enter the VAT ID your customer gives you – it is written onto the order and the invoice is issued
  • Or you decide: “no VAT ID – issue as a domestic invoice with German VAT”
  • If the item stays open for two weeks the app reminds you – well within the six months of § 14 Abs. 2 UStG

Good to know

  • VAT IDs are checked for format and origin. A qualified confirmation with the BZSt (VIES) is not replaced by the app – that remains the business owner’s job.
  • A VAT ID from a third member state (possible chain transaction) and deliveries where billing and shipping address straddle the EU border are put to you for confirmation instead of being decided silently.

Software, not tax advice: We are not tax advisers: Easy Invoices applies the rules you configure to your shop’s data – checking your documents for tax correctness stays with you and your accounting firm. Details in § 2a of the terms

Frequently asked questions

Why two different notes for EU B2B?

Because the law knows two different cases. A delivery of goods to a business in the EU is a tax-free intra-community supply (§ 6a). A service is a supply on which the recipient owes the tax (§ 13b). The wrong note is a formal defect that § 14a Abs. 5 UStG does not accept.

What if the customer sends their VAT ID only after buying?

That is exactly what the open item is for: you add the number and the invoice is issued with both VAT IDs. No wrong invoice is created that you would then have to cancel.

Related capabilities

OSS (One-Stop Shop) Print and flag EU distance sales with destination VAT correctly. Tax registrations & export Switzerland, UK, US: tax-free export or destination tax – depending on your registration. E-invoicing (ZUGFeRD) PDF/A-3 with embedded EN 16931 XML – one switch, every document.

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